That lesson, about the Netherlands’ nude beaches, is followed by another: homosexuals have the same rights here as heterosexuals do, including the chance to marry. Just to make sure everyone gets the message, two men are shown kissing in a meadow.
The scenes are brief parts of a two-hour-long film that the Dutch government has compiled to help potential immigrants, many of them from Islamic countries, meet the demands of a new entrance examination that went into effect. In the exam, candidates must prove they can speak some Dutch and are at least aware of the Netherlands’ liberal values, even if they do not agree with all of them.
In the film immigrants living in The Netherlands also explain that it is not easy to live in the Netherlands and that that it is often very cold.
Opponents of the tightening immigration policies have pointed to the film — a DVD contained in a package of study materials for the new exam — as an attempt by the government to discourage applicants from Islamic countries who may be offended by its content.
A reporter from ABC news travels to the Netherlands to film for a reportage about the controversial film, the naturalisation exam and about the strict Dutch immigration policy. The Dutch Somalian member of Parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali and the Dutch minister of Migration and Integration is interviewed. And the Dutch Turkish lawyer Famile Arslan and the chairman from the Euro-Mediterranean Migration and Development Centre give their views about the instruction film, the exam for newcomers and the strict Dutch immigration policy in general.
For this news reportage Featurez gave advice, did the research set-up and planning, booked a rental car and did the driving, accompanied the filming, did some of the interviews, translations and organised a DVD with the instruction film.